‘Saturday Night Live’: Team Trump Assembles for ‘Hallelujah’ in Cold Open (Watch)

“Saturday Night Live’s” final episode of the season featured Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson and “SNL” troupers assembling for another rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” but this time in the guise of Team Trump.

Baldwin was at the piano as President Trump. The song and the setting was a call back to the first “SNL” episode after the Nov. 8 election, when Kate McKinnon performed the song in the cold open to pay tribute to Cohen, who died Nov. 7 at the age of 82, and to acknowledge the nation’s shock at Donald Trump’s upset victory in the election over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

This time around, McKinnon appeared as Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway. Mikey Day and Alex Moffatt were on hand as Trump sons Donald Jr. and Eric. Cecily Strong once again was first lady Melania Trump. Johannson appeared halfway through the song in a gold lame gown meant to evoke first daughter Ivanka Trump.

The group also featured Beck Bennett as Mike Pence, Aidy Bryant as deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a cast member dressed as the Grim Reaper, which has been “SNL’s” way of spoofing controversial presidential advisor Steve Bannon.

After the song, Baldwin-as-Trump insisted: “I’m not giving up because I didn’t do anything wrong.” That was a reference to the rocky week for President Trump amid a series of explosive revelations, and to the comment McKinnon made after the song during the Nov. 12 episode. “I’m not giving up, and neither should you,” McKinnon said at the time, a nod to the pain that many women felt after Clinton’s loss and the dismay over Trump’s political agenda.

Related

“Saturday Night Live” is wrapping its 42nd season with host Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Katy Perry as musical guest. It also marked the final appearances for both Bobby Moynihan and Vanessa Bayer. The two were featured in a number of sketches including “Weekend Update.”

During Johnson’s monologue, the actor noted the recent headlines about his speculative run for president. Baldwin rushed onto the stage, as himself, to urge Johnson to run. (He also welcomed Johnson into the club of people who have hosted “SNL” five times.) Johnson confirmed his intent to run, with a wink. He toyed with Baldwin about possibly being his running made before Tom Hanks (who is also in the five-timers club) bounded out on stage.

“A lot of people have told me that I should run for president,” said Johnson. “Starting tonight I’m running for president for the U.S.”

The two then launched into their campaign push: “Together we would get 100 percent of the vote. I would get the senior vote because I fought in World War II in like ten different movies,” said Hanks. Added Johnson, “And I would get the minority vote because everyone just assumes I’m what they are.”

The duo then turned semi-serious, ending their “campaign” saying “When it comes to politics, we need more poise and less noise,” as a big banner #JohnsonHanks2020 unfurled behind them.

By the end of the monologue, the hashtag #JohnsonHanks2020 was trending on Twitter.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

Writer, director and producer Drew Goddard has signed an exclusive, multiyear overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television, under which he will write, create, direct and develop new TV series for the studio across all platforms. Goddard’s deal, announced by Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment chairman Dana Walden, is the first to close since [...]

It’s tape night on the set of “Abby’s,” located behind one of the homes built on the fabled Universal Studios backlot. As the night falls and a chill sweeps in, the NBC comedy’s producers are facing the kinds of obstacles that no other multi-camera sitcom has likely ever confronted. Out come the dewdrops, crickets, helicopters, [...]

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke revealed that she suffered from two brain aneurysms that nearly took her life in the early years of the blockbuster HBO series. Clarke spoke about her health scare for the first time in a personal essay published in the New Yorker on Thursday morning. Just before she assumed her [...]

Comcast said it would unveil “Flex,” a hub for its Internet-only customers that allows them to stream and purchase shows and movies, the latest effort by a traditional cable provider to latch on to customers who are migrating to broadband services, The Philadelphia cable giant will also make free, ad-supported services available via the service, [...]

Fourteen-year-old skateboarding star and two-time world champ Brighton Zeuner will be the focus of a feature documentary by Imagine Documentaries and Zero Point Zero, Variety has learned exclusively. Described as a coming-of-age story, the film will document Zeuner’s childhood, personal and professional relationships, and road to earning a spot as a member of the 2020 [...]

The iconic red-caped, white-bonneted outfits worn by Elisabeth Moss and the other childbearing servants in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” created by costume designer Ane Crabtree, have become that show’s signature visual. Hulu immediately knew it had a good thing, hiring groups of women around the country to parade in the garments to promote the show. [...]

Netflix global marketing chief Stephen Bruno has exited his post for MGM, where he has been named chief marketing officer. His departure follows that of Netflix CMO Kelly Bennett and marks a major shake-up for the streaming giant. Bruno had been with the streamer since 2014, and is known as an innovator. He joins MGM [...]